Creatives across borders

🎨 From Ballet Shoes to Picture Books: The Creative Journey of Momoko Abe | Creatives Across Borders 🌍 In this inspiring episode of Creatives Across Borders, I sit down with the incredibly talented Momoko Abe—Japanese-born author, illustrator, and creative powerhouse behind the hit picture book Avocado Asks. We explore Momoko’s unique path from aspiring ballerina in Tokyo to filmmaker in London,...

Chitra Soundar is a celebrated children's book author with over 50 published books. Chitra's journey from a computer scientist in India to a full-time storyteller is filled with cultural richness and deep creative insight. She discusses her path from early scribbles to professional writing, her creative strategies, and offers valuable advice for aspiring writers. Chitra elaborates on her...

Marissa Valdez is a talented Hispanic-American illustrator and #1 New York Times bestselling artist, about her incredible journey into the world of children's books. Starting with a degree in animation, Marissa’s path was far from straightforward. From working as a graphic designer to a preschool teacher, a life-changing podcast finally inspired her to pursue children’s book illustration. Tod...

In this episode of Creatives Across Borders, we sit down with Jasmine Richards, an accomplished author and founder of Storymix, to explore the fascinating world of book packaging. With nearly 20 years of experience in children's publishing, Jasmine takes us through her journey of building Storymix from the ground up, co-authoring the hit Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door series with Tola Okogwu, and...

Dapo Adeola is a renowned children's book illustrator, author and storyteller.  Join us as Dapo shares his journey, current and future projects, and invaluable advice for aspiring creatives. Discover the inspiration behind his acclaimed works, such as "Look Up" - winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize - and "Hey You," and learn about his innovative approaches...

 Steven Bryant is a multi-talented creative professional with a background in graphic design, illustration, and photography. His passion lies in creating illustrated children's books, having self-published six since he began his series in 2017. Growing up, Steven was always engaged in drawing, writing, and reading, with a childhood dream of working in animation, inspired by Disney cartoons. T...

Flavia Drago is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator from Mexico. She is best known for her signature use of horror characters for captivating children's picture books which include, Gustavo the shy ghost, Leila the perfect witch and Vlad the fabulous vampire . Her fascination and works also form the context of her current PhD at Anglia Ruskin University where she's resear...

Ori (short for Orianna) Bellardi is a Venezuelan toy maker, 3d maker and painter. She has worked with award winning artists such as Dapo Adeola and Chris Chatterton bringing their characters alive in colourful mind-blowing 3d printed and painted toys. Interestingly, Ori's journey started from the kitchen having practiced and worked as a chef for 15+ years across Venezuela, India, Portugal, Sp...

Selom Sunu is a British-Ghanaian character designer and illustrator whose works include the Google Doodle of Andrew Watson , CBeebies JoJo and Gran Gran show , and Children's books by publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins. What you may not know is his business and marketing background, the late start to his illustration and animation career, the story behind his mentorship with an experi...

Lola Usupova is a children's book writer and illustrator. A suitcase, dreams and lots of courage is one way to sum up Lola's beginnings. From have native sunny Uzbekistan first to Russia, then Poland, Sweden and now the UK, Lola's artistic journey is still unravelling. Yet, her story as a promising children's book writer and illustrator is captivating. Her journey has involved...

Eva Wong Nava is a British-Chinese Children’s book writer, coach, and sensitivity reader. Born in Singapore before emigrating to the UK in the 1990s, Eva is a polyglot who speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Italian proficiently. She is a Feature Editor for Representation for Words & Pictures , the SCBWI British Isles ’ online magazine where she researches and writes articles on the topic...

Segun Samson is a Nigerian artist with multiple roles across the global animation industry.  He has played key roles in different Netflix and Disney+ featured series including The Dragon Prince, Kiya and the Kimoja heroes, Jungle beat (the movie) and Kizazi Moto. Samson dissects his journey from humble beginnings to his place as a well sought after artist working with animation studios across the...

Brazilian picture book writer and illustrator Tita Berredo shares her inspirational journey from a marketer in her native Rio, Brazil, to occupying exciting positions in the UK children's books industry. From her courageous approach to landing an agent, practical steps of how she fully integrated into the massive UK children's books industry attracting opportunities, awards and features,...